Rhumbline Advisers Sells 15,746 Shares of Premier, Inc. $PINC

Key Points

• Rhumbline Advisers has reduced its holdings in Premier, Inc. by 5.8%, selling 15,746 shares and now owns 255,002 shares valued at approximately $4.9 million.
• Premier recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.2%, despite having a high payout ratio of 381.82%.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Premier, with a consensus average target of $25.29, indicating a cautious outlook on the stock's performance.

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its position in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 255,002 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,746 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.31% of Premier worth $4,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Premier by 74.9% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 570,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,999,000 after purchasing an additional 244,251 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Premier by 7.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 413,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,969,000 after purchasing an additional 28,496 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Premier by 2.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 508,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,800,000 after purchasing an additional 12,303 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Premier in the first quarter valued at about $1,700,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Premier by 101.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 809,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,616,000 after purchasing an additional 407,373 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Premier Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:PINC opened at $26.60 on Friday. Premier, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.23 and a 1 year high of $28.79. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.91 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.73.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Premier's dividend payout ratio is currently 381.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Premier from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Premier from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on Premier from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Premier from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Premier currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $25.29.

Insider Transactions at Premier

In other news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 3,349 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.57, for a total transaction of $85,633.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 97,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,486,861.49. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,137 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $29,323.23. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,536 shares of the company's stock, valued at $710,153.44. This represents a 3.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,326 shares of company stock valued at $317,230 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Premier Company Profile

Premier, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a healthcare improvement company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Supply Chain Services and Performance Services. The Supply Chain Services segment offers its members with an access to a range of products and services, including medical and surgical products, pharmaceuticals, laboratory supplies, capital equipment, information technology, facilities and construction, and food and nutritional products, as well as purchased services, such as clinical engineering and workforce solutions.

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